GOMI Style. Liquid Light. Jake's Wimshurst Machine and How to Build It! (Part 1) Last year I wrote an article for Make Magazine volume #17 that described the construction of an electrostatic generator of electricity, a Wimshurst Influence machine, using parts and materials commonly available at your local home center and hardware store. I was a little surprised and quite pleased when I realized that the contract from O'Reilly Media (the publishers of Make:) had me retaining copyright for the material I submitted.
What I sold to O'Reilly was basically a right to use and to publish first. So here it is for your enjoyment! This is the first of a five part series detailing the construction of a Wimshurst Influence machine! (UPDATE: added large dimensioned drawing.) Part 1 - Overview, Materials, and Tools When assembling a laboratory, the gentleman or lady experimenter should be sure to include a Wimshurst electrostatic generating machine. Introduction: Electrostatic machines have always seemed a little like magic to me. Functional Overview: History: Materials: Tools: Copper Plating and Etching Altoids Tins. UPDATE: There's some great information on this page and it's comments, but I've recently published a far more comprehensive article here: Etching Tins with Salt Water and Electricity With this project I wanted to try a number of new things: Magazine pages as cheap toner transfer mediaCopper electroplatingEtching Altoid tins with a salt water solution The copper plating met with mixed success, but the other two methods resulted in some nice pieces.
Note: blue vitriol and muriatic acid are archaic names for copper sulfate and hydrochloric acid. Magazine pages for toner transfer: While looking for information on transferring toner using a fuser assembly from an old laser printer I ran across several websites where people suggested using glossy magazine pages for transferring printed circuit board images to a copper substrate. I thought I'd give this a try for etching Altoid tins, so I cut up a likely magazine. Preparing the Altoids tins turned out to be harder then I predicted. Next we: Foom! Steampunk Model 420 Pneumatiform Infumationizer Project Details. The Steampunk Home. Brass Goggles: The lighter side of Steampunk. Posted by proteus on December 23rd,2013 Two things I love in one photo: [via Brian Kesinger’s Tea Girls] Posted by proteus on October 17th,2013 A Steampunk Badminton tournament sounds like a fantastic idea.
Posted by proteus on October 11th,2013 Our Forum User “Bolt Face” brings this lovely coverage of a Steampunk Coffee House from The Chive: Image from The Chive Many more images in the original article, and a discussion here on our forums. This clock may not be exactly “steampunk”, but it certainly tickles the dials-and-knobs delight! [Via Boing Boing] Posted by proteus on October 8th,2013 Described as inspired by Steampunk and Warhammer-like games, Diesel Tactics looks like an interesting project that’s still in development. Posted by proteus on February 28th,2013 Hand made from savaged Arbutus, Western Red Cedar, and Black Walnut, these articulated Steamy Icarus wings are a beautiful handmade addition to any dirigible captain’s safety gear: And they’re not just static decoration, either: (more…)